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Chapter 161 - Handbook
🕑 Added 2020-12-23 13:00:02 +0000 UTCLeaving the dungeon wasn't much of an issue. It just took time. Even after all the fighting, Thomas didn't seem tired. Runir still had a few potions, but now he was trying to pace himself. It was better to be ready for any emergencies. Thanks to his [Sight], he could see if her wounds were getting worse. Alex still seemed stable, but that also meant that she wasn't improving, and the accelerated regeneration wasn't taking effect.
When they exited the dungeon, a few people gave just them a nod, while others noticed the bandages and asked if they needed some help. A couple of healers checked on Alex, but they couldn't do more than what Runir already did. Before they headed down, a mage offered to make a stone stretcher to help them carry Alex, while another created some vines to help keep her steady.
Hera took one of the sides of the stretcher, and they all moved down the cliff. Alex seemed much better on the stone slab. Her complexion was improving, and her breath became steadier. It took them only half an hour to arrive in the city. The guild was on the 2nd floor, but since they had someone wounded, it was better to use the elevator instead of the staircase.
Arriving at the guild, they were rushed to the infirmary. The on-call healer started to examine Alex while her assistant praised Runir for his first aid. Alex would stay unconscious for some time, especially now that a sleep spell was placed on her. Hera wanted to stay there until she woke up, but after some insistence, the rest of the group convinced her that they should do something else. Staying there was pointless, and it would only stress her.
They headed out and found a restaurant nearby with private rooms that they could use to rest. Even though none of them was in the mood for a meal, it was the only place they could have a private conversation. After sitting down, they ordered some coffee and water to the server's dismay. They just stood there, in silence. Hera stared at the glass of water in front of her.
"Ahem," Thomas cleared his throat, "If no one is willing to talk. Let me raise a glass for a successful, albeit not flawless, venture," he raised his glass for a toast.
Hera just stared at him, "Are you fucking serious right now?"
Blue grabbed her arm, "Hera, calm down," she turned back to Tom, "That wasn't cool, man. This wasn't a success."
"And why, pray tell, it wasn't a success?"
"Alex almost died!" Hera shouted, getting up from the table. Even the noise from the rest of the restaurant stopped with her yelling.
"You are correct, but she wasn't the only one. We all had close calls during that fight. Blue could have become a baked good if the tentacles wrapped around her. The sprite could have sent me to the sky, or ceiling in this case, while it thrashed. And you could have become a paste under the stone pillar. We all had close calls. Such is the nature of our job."
"That's not the same. None of us got seriously hurt," Hera replied.
"Only by skill and luck. The same is applied to Alex," Tom stared at Hera, not changing his calm expression.
"So she just got hurt because she is unlucky?"
"Not at all. She got hurt because she is skilled enough to save you from the pillar, but not quite capable enough to notice the incoming attack while she was worried about you. This is not a complaint about her abilities. Many would find it difficult to save you without getting hurt, and even fewer would be willing to rise to the occasion," Tom took a sip of his coffee.
"So in the end, Alex got hurt because of me," Hera said.
"No, Hera. I'm the one who messed up. I should have kept the monster on me." Blue took Hera's hand.
"None of this would if I realized that I needed a battle heal sooner. When I got to her, it was already too late to use it," Runir tightened the grip on his cup.
"Or your barriers could've made a difference. Or Blue could be the one who hid behind the pillar. Or we could have killed it sooner. The list of actions that could have been different is longer than any of us can imagine. The fact of the matter is, we survived and completed the dungeon quest. Yes, Alex was wounded during the combat, but I take a day among the healers over a trip to the morgue every single time," Tom said with a stern tone.
"You are all saying things we could've done differently. I'm the one who wasn't feeling well, and because of that, Alex got hurt," Hera dropped down in the chair.
"We were all aware of that. Still, it was a group decision to press on. Nothing was barring us from returning at any point. Besides, I'm at fault here as well. During the rush of battle, I overlooked the fact that we could flee from the boss, and probably should have done so," Tom looked down for the first time.
"I would still need to apply the first aid. And Hera would have to deal with the lights once more. If her headache turned to a migraine, there would be no one to help her," Runir said.
"I could take it. Alex was the most important thing in there," Hera protested.
"STOP!" Blue's shout made the group stare at her, surprised by the outburst, "We can stay the rest of the year talking about what we should have done. Or things we forgot. That won't help. How about we stop wallowing in our pain and talk about what we can do so these things never happen again?"
They all nodded and discussed strategy. For starters, when someone got hurt, Runir would be in charge of saying if they should retreat. The decision was entirely up to him, and no one would protest. It didn't matter the situation. If the monster changed its target from Blue to someone else, that person should run towards the controller. That way, it would be easier for her to taunt it once more. They all would update their first aid kits to have aspirins, something for allergies, and any mundane medicine that affected something inside their bodies. Runir was only in charge of wounds that could happen during whatever they were doing, not of every stomach ache they had. Lastly, during any fight, be it big or small, Thomas would stop with the knight's speech. They couldn't afford to take the time to understand what he was saying in the heat of a battle.
Blue, the one taking notes and creating a handbook for the team, looked up from her tablet, "Are we all good with this? We can add or remove things at any time. Nothing here is set in stone."
"I think this is a good plan. Far from perfect, but it's a good start," Hera said, looking over Blue's shoulder.
"Yeah. I'm not sure if I'm the best one to say if we should run or not, but I'm willing to give it a go," Runir nodded.
"I must say. You have the makings of a Hero. You might become the fifth Hero one day. Although to be forthright, I do hope there is never a need for another one," Tom complimented Blue's work.
"Why fifth? We only have three right now," Blue stared at Tom.
"I shall be the fourth. You can have your go next," Thomas replied with a smirk.
"Bring it on, knight boy," Blue smiled, laying back on her chair, only to move around and take off a pair of pants that was tied into her pack, "Oh, I totally forgot about this. We got it from the boss."
The group moved inspected the white pair of pants.
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Sprite's trousers (Uncommon)
Defense rating D
Leather pants that spent centuries inside the underground forest, battered by elemental energy. When someone lost these trousers, the fungi grew over them, allowing the leather to absorb some of its proprieties.
It can receive elemental energy and change its outside appearance according to the element that coursed through it.
This effect can only happen once.
Scaling:
Endurance x 0.15
Intelligence x 0.2
[Scorching Touch]
By triggering this effect, the pants become scorching hot to the touch. The wearer is not affected by this effect, nor does it feel an increase in the Sprite's Trousers temperature when the skill is active.
Mana cost: 5 per second
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"Ok… so who does it fit?" Blue asked.
"Is this the first time you ever got an equipment dropped from a dungeon?" Thomas turned to her.
"Yeah."
"It can fit anyone. However, only the first person who tries to wear it. After that, the size will remain the same," Tom explained.
"Really? That seems a bit too convenient," Hera said.
"Indeed, it is. I am unable to tell you the reason why this happens. I imagine that the first time someone wears the clothing, the system applies a spell for it to fit. Alas, it is not a perfect fit by any means. A tailor-made armor is still much more comfortable. The system does something akin to picking a size in a store."
"Why? Isn't the system all-powerful? Why not make a perfect fit since it's already using magic?" Hera asked.
"Maybe it's because of us," the group turned to Runir, "The system created the roles after watching us, right? Maybe it's the same with equipment. It sees that we don't have tailor-made clothing all the time, and it created its own version of sizes. When someone puts mana into it, the system already has your size, so it just mirrors it."
They all started discussing theories on why the system acted the way it does. With the improved mood, they ordered some food. It was only a light meal since they weren't celebrating, but the trip and the stress made them use a lot of energy. Hera noticed that the dungeon quest's notification was still showing on her tablet, but it felt wrong to get the rewards without Alex and they all agreed to wait. She also found it weird that there was no information about the compendium for the dungeon, but according to Tom, they would only get that after defeating all three bosses.
The group left the restaurant, leaving a generous tip to the servers. They headed to the guild once more, wanting to check up on Alex. She was still sleeping, but the healers reassured them that she was fine and should be up in a few hours. However, she would need a couple of days before any intense workout. They thanked the healers and waited by the guild.
While waiting, Runir and Blue looked for new spells. Runir wanted more heals and a way to make stretchers, splints, and other helpful first aid tools. Blue looked for spells that could force a monster to focus on her, and that would allow her to move around faster or even to change positions with someone. The latter was too expensive, both in gold for the code and mana cost.
Hera and Tom went to an ATR. There was a double room available, and they didn't want to stand around doing nothing. Tom went to practice his swordsmanship while Hera focused on her mana regeneration. She wanted to get her Mage skill soon, and the skill was already at 14% mastery. After the talk with Helena, she was improving at a steady pace. After a few hours of practice, Hera managed to increase the mastery to 15%. If she managed to keep that pace, she could trigger her quest in a couple of weeks.
They left the ATR and found Blue and Runir talking in the guild's lounge. Sometime later, a clerk came to let them know that Alex had woken up.
Comments
Perizou
Just a head's up everyone. We will have a chapter on Friday (Christmas day) Same on new years. I might not be able to reply to any comments on those days, but the chapters will come nonetheless!
